A clinical pathway is a multidisciplinary management tool based on evidence-based practice for a specific group of patients with a predictable clinical course, in which the different tasks (interventions) by the professionals involved in the patient care are defined, optimized and sequenced either by hour (ED), day (acute care) or visit (homecare).
Clinical pathways can range in scope from simple medication utilization to a comprehensive treatment plan.
The clinical pathway concept appeared for the first time at the New England Medical Center (Boston, United States) in 1985, inspired by Karen Zander and Kathleen Bower.
An aim is to re-center the focus on the patient's overall journey, rather than the contribution of each specialty or caring function independently.
The combined variances for a sufficiently large population of patients are then analysed to identify important or systematic features, which can be used to improve the next iteration of the pathway.